Plant Services - September 2007 - (Page 38) MANAGEMENT Safety on the nature of your operations. e critical element is fostering a mindset that truly gives safety more than lip service – where it naturally comes fi rst in every plan and activity. “It’s kind of a culture thing,” says Rhoden. “Not safety culture specifically – the same culture that leads to problems in production or quality carries over to safety.” For instance, OSHA’s fi rst update to the Electrical Installation Standard in 25 years took effect in mid-August. “ ey published it in February, and now, in mid-July, we’re getting deluged with questions,” Rhoden says. “Some companies saw it, planned for it and geared up for it. Others are cobbling it together at the last minute. Still others are looking for a loophole: ‘Why do I have to comply?’” Like maintenance, some see it as proactive versus reactive. A reactive company might participate in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), where OSHA comes in and tells them where the discrepancies are, and they get them SAFETY OVERSEAS Work Smarter Rely on Reelcraft Heavy Duty Air/Water/Oil/Grease Made in USA Plants in some foreign cou ntries have been slower to understand safety economics, but eve n where injured workers hav e little eco nomic recourse, manage rs can learn to appreciate the lost-pro duction argument. “I visited an automobile asse mbly plant overseas. When about employee safety, the I talked senior management team was honest and said if an employee was hur t they just opened the door and there were a thousand peo ple standing outside waiting for a job,” says Greg Anderson, CEO , Results in Learning (ww w.resultsinlearning.com). “I asked them what their targ et number of cars down the bly line was each day. The assemy quickly told me 40 cars. I asked them, when an employee got hur t and they had to stop and clean-up the blood, ll out the report and , more importantly, lost tha t person’s experience, would they exp ect to have less cars make it down the line that day? They acknow ledged this would be the case. “I then asked, if they didn’t have to do all the above, cou put more cars down the ld they line than expected? They quickly asked me what could be done to improve safety at their faci lity.” New! Light duty cord reels Hose and Cable Reels 800-444-3134 reelcraft.com New! Medium duty cord reels Wind Things Up With Reelcraft 38 fi xed. “Or they react to an incident – a finger gets crushed and they fi x that machine only,” says Peabody. When something becomes a new OSHA regulation, the safest facilities will probably already be doing it. “Alcoa is an example of a proactive company,” Peabody says. “When they buy a plant, they have us go over it. When they specify new equipment, they have us check the engineering.” Like any initiative, safety must be driven from the top. As a company’s number-one priority, it must be discussed fi rst at every meeting, tracked with key performance indicators (KPIs), and part of every manager’s performance review. But as a complex combination of knowledge, observation, attitude and action, safety depends on day-to-day interaction of S .PLANTSERVICES. http://www.toppsproducts.com http://www.toppsproducts.com http://www.resultsinlearning.com http://www.resultsinlearning.com http://www.reelcraft.com http://www.reelcraft.com http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com
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